Biophysical Society Thematic Meeting

Mechanobiology of Disease

Wednesday Speaker Abstracts

Molecular Tension Probes Reveal the Role of Mechanics in T-Cell Recognition

Khalid Salaita

1,2

, Yang Liu

Victor Ma

Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA,

Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology,

Atlanta, GA, USA.

T cells protect the body against pathogens and cancer by recognizing specific foreign peptides on

the cell surface. Because antigen recognition occurs at the junction between a migrating T cell

and an antigen-presenting cell (APC), it is likely that cellular forces are generated and

transmitted through T-cell receptor (TCR)-ligand bonds. The objective of the work is investigate

the role of mechanics in TCR function. To achieve this goal, we develop a DNA-based

nanoparticle tension sensor producing the first molecular maps of TCR-ligand forces during T

cell activation. We find that TCR forces are orchestrated in space and time, requiring the

participation of CD8 coreceptor and adhesion molecules. Loss or damping of TCR forces results

in weakened antigen discrimination, showing that T cells harness mechanics to optimize the

specificity of response to ligand (PNAS, 2016).